Olive Oil Skin Care Products

Use Olive Oil for Natural Skin Care

Did you know that using olive oil skin care products may do more than just moisturize and soften your skin?

Olive oil is a natural healthy oil that's been used for centuries as a dietary and skin care oil.

One of the many benefits of olive oil is its unique combination of ingredients that can exert powerful effects on your body.

If you're going to use olive oil skin care products, you may want to know why it's such a great skin oil.

Why Olive Oil is Good for Your Skin

Olive oil contains monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Not only are these fats an important energy source, they also play a structural role in your eyes, nervous system, membranes and skin. These fats also help your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins, like Vitamin D.

Olive oil also contains vitamins A & E, as well as carotenoids, squalene (has anti-cancer effects), phytosterols, chlorophyll and phenolic compounds (shown to have anti-microbial activity).

Researchers believe the phenols in olive oil may provide protection against colon, breast and skin cancer.

Olive Oil Fights Inflammation and Edema

Another interesting thing I learned about using olive oil on skin is it may help fight inflammation and edema.

Recent animal studies showed olive oil to be just as effective as indomethacin for reducing inflammation and edema on damaged skin.

Indomethacin is a powerful Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) used to fight inflammation and pain. The downside to using indomethacin is it can cause side effects such as peptic ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding.

So you can see how this healthy oil is packed with a healthy assortment of nutritious and body-protective compounds - just what you'd want for healthy skin care.

Using Olive Oil on Skin

In the old days, Mediterranean women would apply pure olive oil on the skin. You can still do this if you want that old-school, natural approach to skin care.

I follow this same method when I use coconut oil on my skin. I apply the oil directly to my skin, after showering, for that complete skin softening and moisturizing effect. You can do the same with virgin olive oil if you wish.

Some people may prefer to use olive oil skin care products rather than the oil by itself. You can get olive oil shampoos, olive oil skin lotions, olive oil soaps and much more.

While I'm all for the use of adding this natural oil to cosmetic and body care products, I question how much olive oil is actually packaged in them. Unfortunately, the manufacturers don't have to list how much olive oil - only that the product contains olive oil.

As an alternative, you can make your own olive oil skin care products, especially olive oil soaps and lotions. This method allows you to customize just how much olive oil you want in your skin care product and you control exactly what goes into it. This makes sense as you're putting these products on your body and your skin is one of the largest organs. Taking care of your skin with virgin olive oil is one way to stay natural and healthy at the same time.

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